Iran Says Won’t Tolerate Collateral Damage from Karabakh Fighting

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran Saeed Khatibzadeh has given a serious warning to the warring sides involved in military clashes over the Nagorno-Karabakh region to avoid violating the Iranian soil.

A mortar shell fired by the warring sides engaged in conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh region has hit a village in Khoda-Afrin County in northwest of Iran, injuring a six-year-old child.

Asked by journalists on Saturday about the reports of violation of Iran’s soil amid the ongoing clashes between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Khatibzadeh said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is monitoring the movements at our country’s border areas seriously and with great sensitivity.”

The spokesperson underlined that any violation of the Iranian soil by any warring side in the region would be “intolerable”, adding, “We seriously warn all sides to take the necessary precautions in this regard.”

The Iranian spokesman further reiterated the necessity of respecting the Republic of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, observing the principle of protecting civilians, halting the clashes, and starting serious and scheduled negotiations.

Khatibzadeh finally expressed the Islamic Republic’s readiness to help achieve those objectives.

His comments came after officials in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan reported that mortar shells fired by the warring sides in the latest round of fighting between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan have hit border rural areas in the Iranian province.

According to reports, one of the mortar shells that hit a village in Khoda-Afrin County has injured a six-year-old child.

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